June 2 Med...
To self: Today, be mindful of Fellowship.
In our younger years, we really had to work to gain time for ourselves (see Loneliness Med, June 1). Later in life, we find ourselves working harder to maintain friendships, connectivity...fellowship. Seek out friends you've made through the years. Make contact. Communicate. Get together.
And what's the best way to do that? Over food. We are a nation that celebrates, gathers and fellowships over food. It's in our DNA. Everyone's. Gather friends, old and/or new, together soon, pass the plate...and pass the peace. God knows.
----------------------------------
The Supper Table
by D.A. Brooks
Steam rising, sifting through
The kitchen air that we once knew.
Collards, peas and sweet iced tea,
Hoping they'd save some for me.
Sliced tomatoes, juicy red
Triangle cuts of hot cornbread
The smells from days so long ago
Still linger in my head you know.
Golden chicken, crispy fried
Countless veggies on the side
Knowing if we cleaned our plate
Our prize a slice of caramel cake.
The nine of us sat 'round each day
Waiting for a prayer to say
Then mannerly, we'd pass each dish
"A leg for me" was what I wished.
Now years have passed the four of us
Can fellowship and oft' discuss
Those simple times, those happy times
Those Momma, Daddy, Aunt Ruby times.
Now loud and laughing, fam'ly fables,
Around that supper table.
----------------------------------
"The shared meal elevates eating from a mechanical process of fueling the body to a ritual of family and community, from the mere animal biology to an act of culture."
- Michael Pollan,
In Defense of Food
"Wherein lies happiness? In that which becks
Our ready minds to fellowship divine,
A fellowship with essence; till we shine,
Full alchemiz’d, and free of space. Behold
The clear religion of heaven!"
- John Keats
----------------------------------
Hebrews 10:25...
Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.